Week 21 QB projections • BUF Stats
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buffalo Bills
HT: 6-2, WT: 221, Born: 11-24-1982, College: Harvard, Drafted: Round 7
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Click here for 2011 preseason info
Stats and Week 21 Projection
| WK | OPP | RES | CMP | ATT | PYD | Y/A | PTD | INT | RSH | YD | Y/R | TD | FPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEASON TOTAL | 353 | 569 | 3832 | 6.7 | 24 | 23 | 56 | 208 | 3.7 | 0 | 286 | ||
Week 21 Injury Status and Other News
No official injury reports have been released yet
[Wed Feb 1, 5:22 PM] Ryan Fitzpatrick said he does not think the team was ready to handle the early season success they had early this season. Fitzpatrick threw 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions in the first seven games of the season but threw eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions during the team's seven-game losing streak.
Week 21 Matchup Info
The Buffalo Bills have a bye this week.
Game Summaries
Week 1 at KC - The big question for Fitzpatrick and the Bills heading into 2011 was whether much of the success that they had on offense in 2010 would carry over. Apparently it will. Fitzpatrick was cool, consistent, took chances, and made huge throws in the redzone all day long. The offense was aided by numerous turnovers by the Chiefs and great field position. But they took advantage on every turnover by putting points on the board. Fitz spread the ball around wonderfully, not only continuing to use his great rapport with Steve Johnson, but even showing a new look by throwing to the tight end 5 times, and twice in the endzone. The Chiefs defense was hurt when Eric Berry left the game early on, and Fitzpatrick exploited that loss by attacking the backups. In 2010, many thought Fitzpatrick's big games possibly were flukes. Anyone that watched the games though, had to be impressed. In 2011, he has picked up right where he left off, by looking extremely impressive. The Bills have to be excited, as this offense looked sensational. Combine that with an impressive showing by the D-line, and this team could be a major sleeper this year.Week 2 vs OAK - It was a tale of two halves for Fitzpatrick and the Bills offense. In the first half, Fitzpatrick was victimized by some dropped passes and could not seem to find a rhythm. He threw a bad interception over the middle that wound up leading to 7 points for the Raiders and the Bills went into halftime with a 21-3 deficit. In the second half, however, the Raiders had no answer for the Bills spread attack as they scored a touchdown on 5 straight drives and won the game on a 4th down pass play with 14 seconds left. The offensive line held up for the second week in a row, opening up some huge holes for Fred Jackson in the running game while also giving Fitzpatrick sufficient time in the pocket. With the Bills falling behind early, he was forced to pass the ball 46 times so it was even more impressive that the Raiders were only able to generate a few hits and no sacks in the game. While Fitzpatrick didn't take many chances downfield, he was excellent at making quick decisions and delivering the ball accurately to an open receiver. He only threw for 264 yards but finished with 3 touchdowns and also added 23 yards rushing on 3 attempts.
Week 3 vs NE - The strong play of Ryan Fitzpatrick continued this week as he led the Bills to another comeback win, this time over their hated rivals. After a slow start that saw his first two drives end on an interception and the Bills fall behind 21-0 in the first half, Fitzpatrick found his rhythm and started matching Tom Brady throw for throw. While he has locked onto one or two players at times in the past, he did a great job this week of spreading the ball around and keeping everybody involved. With the Bills in comeback mode from very early on, Fitzpatrick finished with 40 pass attempts and lit up the struggling Patriots secondary for 369 yards. The first interception he had came on a tipped pass when the ball went right through the hands of WR Donald Jones, and the second came on a 4th down play when he forced a throw into coverage but it basically worked out like a punt. He did almost have a third interception late in the game on a terrible deep throw into the end zone, but the Patriots were flagged for pass interference on the play. The Patriots did not generate much in the way of a pass rush in the game but they frequently only rushed 3 or 4 guys and dropped the rest in coverage against the Bills spread attack. In addition to his typically accurate passing on short and intermediate routes in the middle of the field, Fitzpatrick also made some great deep throws in the game and beat the Patriots for big gains down either sideline.
Week 4 at CIN - Fitzpatrick did not have a particularly good game this week as he ran into a tough and underrated Bengals defense. He didn't make any big mistakes in the game, but also didn't hit on any big throws either. It was a defensive struggle for much of the game and the Bills took control towards the end of the second half thanks to a couple of takeaways from their defense. The Bills offensive line only gave up one sack in the game but the Bengals were credited with 6 QB hits. The offensive line had been a strength up to this point, but had some difficultly creating a solid pocket for Fitzpatrick to operate out of. The Bengals did a good job of collapsing the pocket and crowding the middle of the field, which forced Fitzpatrick to throw more passes to the outside away from his comfort zone. We knew that Fitzpatrick wasn't going to throw for multiple touchdowns in every game he played, but it did seem as though the Bills went pretty conservative in their play calling while trying to protect the lead. He completed 10 of 14 pass attempts in the second half but only picked up 78 yards.
Week 5 vs PHI - Fitzpatrick did not make the type of big plays this week that Michael Vick was making for the Eagles, but he managed the game very well and avoided making any costly mistakes. The Bills were clearly helped by the five takeaways their defense generated along with a defensive touchdown. Given that he was playing with a lead for much of the game, Fitzpatrick took a conservative approach and favored the shorter routes like slants and screens. This went away from the Eagles strength at corner and allowed him to complete a high percentage of his 27 targets. Fitzpatrick did throw a 6-yard touchdown pass in the game to David Nelson after he found a soft spot in the Eagles zone coverage. The one mistake he made in the game came late in the first half when he tried to force a ball and had it picked off by Eagles LB Jamar Chaney. The Eagles were not able to take advantage though, and Fitzpatrick drove the Bills down for another touchdown on the opening drive of the second half to give them a 21-point lead. From that point forward, the Bills went a little too conservative on offense and had trouble converting third downs. Brad Smith and the Wildcat formation made a little more than a cameo appearance this week, which also ate into Fitzpatrick's numbers slightly. Overall, the Bills offensive line held up well and Fitzpatrick did a good job of taking what the defense gave him.
Week 6 at NYG - Fitzpatrick had an up and down performance this week against the Giants. He completed 8 of 10 passes in the first half and hooked up with Naaman Roosevelt for a 60-yard touchdown pass to give the Bills an early lead. He also followed that up with a short touchdown pass to Steve Johnson in the 4th quarter to tie up the game. The game was marked by a couple of big mistakes, however, as he turned the ball over twice in the second half on deep balls that were clearly underthrown, including one that came late in the game with the Bills already in field goal position. The offensive line was forced to start a rookie backup at Left Tackle this week, but he held up pretty well against Osi Umenyiora. The Giants pass rushers still managed to generate some pressure and focused on getting their hands up to clog passing lanes and disrupt the Bills quick passing attack. As a result, Fitzpatrick often seemed uncomfortable in the pocket and held onto the ball longer than he had been in most other games this season, leading to 3 sacks and a handful of other hits.
Week 8 vs WAS - In a matchup against a blitz-heavy Redskins defense this week, Fitzpatrick mostly took 3 step drops and got rid of the ball quickly. The offensive line had to move LG Andy Levitre out to LT, but they held the Redskins to just a couple sacks and 4 QB hits in the game. Fitzpatrick did take one big hit to the ribs that saw backup Tyler Thigpen start to warm up on the sideline, but he did not miss a play. Playing in Toronto under the dome, there was no weather to worry about and that helped him deliver the ball accurately, often picking up the blitz and making some quick throws to his RBs and WRs. He did lose a fumble on a bobbled snap for the first time all year and threw an interception in the end zone that he would like to have back, but made up for those mistakes with a couple of touchdown throws to TE Scott Chandler in the red zone. The Bills got out to an early lead and were in control nearly the entire time thanks to a steady offense and dominating defense.
Week 9 vs NYJ - Fitzpatrick and the Bills had a dismal outing against the Jets on Sunday. They could not get anything going on offense as only one of their first 8 drives lasted longer than 4 plays. Fitzpatrick was not sacked in the game, but was pressured often and had difficulty finding an open receiver to throw to. Some of his throws were erratic and off-target, and he was not able to move the ball effectively until the game was well out of reach. While he did manage to finish with some respectable numbers thanks to a late touchdown drive and 2-point conversion in garbage time, his early struggles were apparent from a look at his first half numbers (4 of 12 for 24 yards with 0 TDs and 2 INTs). The Jets did a good job of pressing the receivers and crowding the line of scrimmage, which lured the Bills into taking some shots outside against the strength of the Jets coverage.
Week 10 at DAL - Fitzpatrick and the Bills offense had another poor outing this week as they were blown out on the road. The Cowboys scored touchdowns on their first four drives and this put a lot of pressure on the Bills to try and score, but they only managed one touchdown and a missed field goal in the first half. Fitzpatrick was off target on quite a few throws while he was also victimized by several key drops in the game. The poor outing could not really be explained by a breakdown from the offensive line either as a blitz-heavy Dallas defense was only credited with 1 sack and 4 QB hits in the game. Fitzpatrick threw one touchdown in the game to David Nelson on a hard throw into tight coverage, but he threw three interceptions in the second half as he continued to press in a failed comeback attempt. One of those interceptions was picked off easily by corner Terence Newman and returned 43 yards for a touchdown. After a great start to the season, Fitzpatrick now has just 7 touchdowns and 9 interceptions over his last 5 games and it seems that defenses have figured out how to stop this offense.
Week 11 at MIA - Fitzpatrick had another rough outing this week as he barely completed 50% of his passes and threw 2 or more interceptions for the third game in a row. The weather conditions were wet, which may have impacted his accuracy negatively, but many of his throws early on were high and off target. Even as he started to play better, he got very little help from the players around him. The Bills receivers were not able to get any separation and had several balls bounce right off their hands. There were also many problems with the shotgun snaps and QB-Center exchange due to the loss of Eric Wood for the season. Due in part to the tight coverage, Fitzpatrick seemed to hold the ball longer than normal and that led to some negative plays like the 2 sacks and 2 fumbles he lost in the game. The Bills fell behind early after allowing 3 touchdowns on the first three drives, which put added pressure on Fitzpatrick and caused them to abandon the running game too early.
Week 12 at NYJ - Coming off several erratic and disappointing games (2 TDs/7 INTs over previous 3 weeks), Fitzpatrick had a great bounce back performance on the road this week against the Jets. Despite facing one of the better pass defenses in the league, he looked very decisive in the pocket and attacked the defense with a lot of quick hitting plays over the middle. The Jets got quite a bit of pressure on him with 3 sacks and many more pressures, but he did not turn the ball over and also showed some athleticism with 34 yards on 5 rush attempts for his highest total of the season. Fitzpatrick did not shy away from attacking Darrell Revis and generally did a great job of spreading the ball around to each of his receivers. He threw 3 touchdown passes in a game for the third time this season and nearly had a 4th after leading the Bills down the field at the end of the game but could not convert.
Week 13 vs TEN - Fitzpatrick finished with solid numbers but many of them came late in the game with the Bills trying to desperately complete a comeback. As usual, he had most of his success throwing shorter routes over the middle but struggled with his downfield accuracy. He lost a fumble on a 4th down scramble that came up short but otherwise protected the ball well.
Week 14 at SD - Fitzpatrick has played better of late, but had one of the worst games of his professional career. He completed less than 40% of his passes, failed to lead a touchdown drive, and turned it over twice (and could have had two more). The turnovers were especially bad. The first one was partially his fault and partially bad luck. He threw a pass down the seam that bounced off the back of a defender's shoulder and into the waiting arms of another. It was bad luck because of the way the ball deflected, but even so the ball should have been thrown over the top of the first defender so that it didn't hit him in the back. The second pick was all Fitzpatrick. As he was rolling to his right, he stepped back and threw a pass off his back foot into a crowd of players. The ball was easily intercepted by the defender and run back for a touchdown to all but seal the deal. Fitzpatrick had a chance for about an 87-yard touchdown bomb to WR Derek Hagan. Hagan had beaten the last defender by several steps, but the ball was very underthrown. By the time the ball met Hagan, the defenders had caught up and knocked it away incomplete. It was initially ruled a pass interference penalty, but after a brief conference it was waved off. Fitzpatrick made precisely two really good plays in the game. The first was a quick decision to take off on a scramble up the middle on third and four to pick up 18 yards (including banging into the defensive back at the end of the run instead of sliding safely). And another was a perfect pass floated down the sideline to WR Stevie Johnson on a deep ball that went for 53 yards. But aside from that, he was unable to do much. It wasn't even that he was under a ton of pressure or being hit all game; he just simply didn't make quality throws.
Week 15 vs MIA - Fitzpatrick once again wound up with some solid fantasy numbers in this game as the Bills tried to play catch up in the second half, but he was also one of the main reasons they were trailing in the first place. He was erratic on many of his throws and wound up with three interceptions for the second time this season. Two of the interceptions were underthrown balls that were relatively easy plays for the defense to pick off while the third came after he forced a throw into triple coverage and saw it kicked up in the air to a Dolphins defender. He also badly overthrew Steve Johnson after he got behind the defense for what should have been an easy touchdown. Fitzpatrick tried to lead the Bills on a late comeback with a couple of touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough to overcome the huge hole they dug themselves. The Bills are banged up and missing some key components of their offense but Fitzpatrick has not looked the same in recent weeks as he did earlier this year. He doesn't have the same accuracy or confidence and the Bills may already be second guessing the contract extension they gave him a couple months ago.
Week 16 vs DEN - Fitzpatrick did not have one of his better games this week, but the other aspects of the team (defense, special teams, running game) all contributed enough that it didn't really matter. He completed 15 of 27 pass attempts in the game for less than 200 yards and didn't throw a touchdown (or interception) in the game. Fitzpatrick was off target on quite a few throws but didn't make any of the big mistakes that he was making during the Bills 7-game losing streak.
Week 17 at NE - This game was a microcosm of Fitzpatrick's season. He got off to a great start, leading the Bills on three long touchdown drives to take a 21-0 lead on the Patriots. The Patriots slowly climbed back into the game, however, and the wheels fell off the Bills offense in the second half. A key turning point was likely the benching of his favorite receiver Steve Johnson, who was penalized for an excessive celebration after a touchdown catch. Fitzpatrick looked extremely accurate early on but became more and more erratic as the game went on and threw four interceptions in the second half.